The Flash Fiction Contest Returns
Let’s cut to the chase: The annual North Coast Journal Flash Fiction Contest is on. Tell your tale in 99 words or fewer, not including the title, for a chance at a prize or to see your story in the Journal. Email up to three entries as attachments to fiction@northcoastjournal.com with your full name and…
Rio Dell Police Name Eureka Man ‘Person of Interest’ in Shooting
The Rio Dell Police Department has named a Eureka man as a “person of interest” in a fatal shooting of 26-year-old Johnny Renfro that took place Aug. 29. According to a release, the department is having a “third party” analyze any information related to the killing contained on “numerous mobile phones, computers, recordings and other…
California Department of Public Health: ‘Refrain from Vaping’
The California Department of Public Health has issued a health advisory recommending people stop vaping, no matter the substance or source, until current investigations are complete. According to a release, as of Sept. 24, the CDPH had received 90 reports of people with a history of vaping who have been hospitalized for “severe breathing problems…
Huffman: Dems ‘Snowball of Unity’ on Impeachment Led to Historic Announcement
As one of the first and most vociferous members of Congress to beat the impeachment drum, his frustrations having steadily built in recent weeks, North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman applauded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s historic announcement this afternoon that the U.S. House of Representatives will launch a formal impeachment inquiry. “It’s been a remarkable snowball…
UPDATE: Construction Starts on a One-Way Future for Fairfield
A project to help address the slog that is driving through intersections along U.S. Highway 101 in Eureka begins today. Caltrans is starting work on Fairfield Street at Wabash Avenue, meaning Fairfield will be closed for the next four to six weeks, according to the agency. When construction is complete, the street will be one-way…
Bone Positively ID’d as Belonging to Missing Woman
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office confirmed today that a human femur found near the mouth of the Eel River in June is that of Sheila Franks, who went missing in early 2014. The positive identification — first reported by Redheaded Blackbelt — came earlier this month from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Forensic Services…
Photos from Saturday at the North Country Fair
The 46th annual North Country Fair on Saturday lived up to its reputation on Saturday for lovely fall weather, lots of food, art, clothing and craft vendors, and — in memory of the Northcoast Environmental Center’s Tim McKay — a fun, all-ages All Species Parade frolic around the Arcata Plaza. See highlights of the day…
HumBug: An Autumnal Walk
Walking along the Van Duzen River, we spotted a medium sized black and orange wasp industriously digging a hole in the sand. Although similar in many ways, she was smaller and had a slightly different color pattern than the locally common great golden sand digger. I posted my photo and ID request on www.Bugguide.net and…
Trucker Killed in Single-Vehicle Crash
A truck driver was killed yesterday morning when her lumber truck veered off U.S. Highway 101 near Garberville. The cause of the crash remains under investigation but CHP reports a trucker driving a 2010 Kenworth semi truck hauling lumber on a flatbed trailer traveling south on U.S. Highway 101 veered off the west side of…
Hundreds Turn Out as Humboldt Participates in Global Climate Strike (With Slideshow)
As community members waited on the Arcata plaza, their climate-action signs in hand, loud chanting emerged from Ninth and G streets, “Save the Earth!” “Save the Earth!” Hundreds of Humboldt State University and Arcata High School students started to flood the plaza in a massive wave. They were ready to set make mark as part…
Mendo DA Upset to Learn of Former EPD Officer’s Past Dishonesty, Will Dismiss Cases that Require His Testimony
Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster has grave concerns about the Willits Police Department’s hiring of Jacob Jones, having learned of sustained allegations of the officer’s dishonesty during his tenure with the Eureka Police Department. In a scathing, incredulous 2,400-word letter to Willits Police Chief Scott Warnock, Eyster expresses dismay at Jones’ hiring despite the…
North Coast Night Lights: Fading but not Forgotten
I’ve come to embrace the unexpected when I photograph. I tell people when I go out that it’s always an experiment, but I think they think I’m kidding. In part I am, as I am pretty comfortable with my photography, but there’s also a lot of truth to it. It’s dark while I’m photographing; I…
McGuire: Judge’s Tax Return Law Ruling ‘Perplexing, Premature and Unneccesary’
A federal judge today granted a temporary injunction to block California’s recently signed legislation that requires presidential and gubernatorial candidates to release their tax returns to appear on the state’s primary ballot. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, U.S. District Judge Morrison England Jr. said a final ruling in the case would…
Drier Weather Ahead After Deluge Drenches Arcata
So that was a lot of rain. According to the Eureka office of the National Weather Service, Arcata bore the brunt of the storm with some 2 inches of rain coming down in one hour. The record for the day was 1.45 inches (in Eureka) set back in 1977. The deluge left flooded streets and…
Two Killed in Crash on State Route 299
Two people were killed in a head-on collision yesterday morning on State Route 299 west of Willow Creek. CHP responded at 11:45 a.m. to a report that a Mazda Sedan traveling eastbound on State Route 299 at an unsafe speed for wet roadway conditions had lost control and driven into the westbound lane, where it…
LampshellLosers
I spotted the hairiest and smelliest hippie ever in the woods one day. But he lumbered away looking back over his shoulder. Then, unseen, he taught me how to communicate with him in code by banging a stick on a tree. He recently banged out, “I’ve seen your Washed Up stories. Your pictures are always…
‘Completely Legitimate’
Editor: In response to Amy Dillon Sewell’s letter, there are no “bad” words (Mailbox, Sept. 12). Yes, the English language has much beauty and ingenuity, including the unique meaning and tenor of “curse” words. These words impart a particular nuance of meaning that cannot be attained with other words. They are completely legitimate and useful…
Fall Fly
Fall fly, you poor immobile beast, cool weather has clipped your wings. No darting, no buzzing like before; just a quiet hanging out, life in the fast lane reduced to inaction; a lurking, a crawling, perhaps interrupted by a short hop, but only when disturbed. But I am disturbed no more. No stalking is needed…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): We’re in the equinoctial season. During this pregnant pause, the sun seems to hover directly over the equator; the lengths of night and day are equal. For all of us, but especially for you, it’s a favorable phase to conjure and cultivate more sweet symmetry, calming balance and healing harmony. In…
Coming Full Circle
Jose Pacheco was a cherubic 12 year old with a troubled past and an uncertain future when he arrived at Blue Ox Community School’s doorstep eight years ago. Not even a teenager, he was already at a crossroads in life. “I remember how scared I was because the old building had barbed wire around it,”…
In the Balance
Seven local environmental groups have signed onto a letter to the Humboldt County Planning Department demanding changes to a proposed wind farm project that would place dozens of large turbines on two ridgelines south of Rio Dell. The letter — signed by some of the North Coast’s environmental heavyweights — comes as the the large,…
Some Things Last A Long Time
Last week two very different musical geniuses passed away. Ric Ocasek was a hook-writer like no other before or since, and was the mind behind The Cars, as well as a talented producer behind the boards. Daniel Johnston was a lo-fi music collage artist who suffered openly and tremendously from various mental health issues for…
The Watergate ‘Tricky Dick’ Cake
If you grew up in the Midwest in the 1970s, you didn’t attend a family holiday, barbecue, reunion or get-together without someone bringing a version of ambrosia salad: Some concoction of whipped cream mixed with gelatin, pineapples, marshmallows, raisins, nuts, maraschino cherries, fruitcake candied fruit pieces, sprinkles, coconut flakes, spam, canned mandarin oranges and on…
Really, NCJ?
Editor: “Burger Week,” really? (Sept. 12.) We are in peak growing season and the variety of incredible local food is off the charts (thank you farmers!). How about a Locavore Week featuring restaurants’ most locally-sourced dishes? (Thanks to Papa Wheelies’ for its veg/local burger, at least!!) Julie Slater North, Sunnybrae Related Stories
Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave …
If you’re looking for lighthearted entertainment that will have you wondering who did it right until the very end, you’ll have a lot of fun with North Coast Repterory Theatre’s latest production. Spider’s Web is deservedly one of Dame Agatha’s most popular staged works, second only in performance numbers to The Mousetrap. It has all…
‘Very Offended’
Editor: My friends and I, who have chosen not to partake of the marijuana craze, are very offended by the ad on the back cover (Sept. 12). It appears that you are trying to alienate as many people as possible. Minnie Wolf, Eureka
Respect the Hustle
Review HUSTLERS is not a perfect movie. Of course not, such a thing does not exist. But it is a timely, important and overall very good one, and for that I guess I wish it could hit all the invisible, impossible marks required for greatness. Maybe I should be satisfied that it has managed significant…
About Those Pronouns
Editor: Oh my, this change will be hard on some of us traditionalists (“We’ve Come to Prefer They/Them Pronouns,” Sept. 12). To minimize the change, how about changing your sentences when possible? In your examples: “When a customer walks into a restaurant, he or she can order off the menu” — why not change it…
Banking and Vaping
The U.S House of Representatives will vote later this month on a bipartisan bill designed to allow cannabis businesses access to the federal banking system, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has told multiple media outlets. The legislation — known as the SAFE Banking Act — would lift long-standing federal rules that prohibit banking institutions from…
A Vaping Omission
Editor: As a long time veteran vaper, I read the column (“Vapers Beware,” Sept. 12) with interest. Keeping up with the scientific and popular literature, I was aware of the problem and the latest theories about the cause of lung damage from vaping e-cigs and had already been warning friends that the carriers being used…
Cannabis Raids and Our Economy
Speakers at the Sept. 10 Humboldt County Board of Supervisors meeting expressed concerns about recent sheriff’s office cannabis raids and the extreme costs and long timelines needed to get grows permitted. Humboldt County’s economy has taken a big hit with the onset of cannabis regulation, as evidenced by a 10-percent reduction in sales tax receipts…
‘His Good Accomplishments’
Editor, I don’t normally stick my neck out for political causes, but Martha Johnson’s question — “How can people who call themselves Christian justify the lack of moral principles he shows every single day?” (Mailbox, Sept. 12) — challenged me to want to answer that. Knowing how sinful every person on Earth is, I don’t…
‘Some Urgency’
At the Aug. 27 meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, First District Supervisor Rex Bohn introduced a measure calling for the creation of a citizen advisory council on climate action. Such a council, it is hoped, can provide a significant additional voice to a process — the creation of a climate action plan…
‘This is Important’
Editor: Thank you for reporting on the wind energy project and looming sea-level rise around Humboldt Bay (Mailbox, July 11 and “‘Ground Zero,'” Aug. 15). Scientists report that we have, at most, 12 years to cut fossil fuel combustion in half or else the climate crisis becomes an all-out catastrophe for literally millions of people…
‘Quixotic’
Editor: Fortuna’s City Councilmember Glaser’s crusade against the public art as “pacifism” and “liberalism” seems quixotic (“Friendly Fire,” Sept. 12). If the art poles are verboten in the good councilmember’s world, might as well ban Volkswagen buses in Fortuna. It could be driven by a Wall Street investment banker to no avail, nothing screams liberal…
‘Concerned’
Editor: I have long been concerned by the nuclear waste stored south of Eureka (“Radioactive,” Sept. 5). From what I understand, there is a huge prevalence of leukemia in children in the area of the decommissioned reactor. I would like to hear about this from public health. I have no idea what can be done…
